Another Marriage
by talking-eye
Summary: Burke & Cristina. Fluff, but not too sweet. Inspired by the picture of George & Callie at the nurse station, Izzie & Cristina laughing in the background.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I meant to write about the panic of singlehood, but ended up doing something silly. I know I should be updating other fics... Anyway...

**Ch. 1**

_When I was just a little girl  
I asked my mother, what will I be  
Will I be pretty, will I be rich  
Here's what she said to me._

Que Sera, Sera,  
Whatever will be, will be  
The future's not ours, to see  
Que Sera, Sera  
What will be, will be.  
--Doris Day

Beneath Cristina's sneaky smile as she learned about George's and Callie's secret marriage, there was a faint sense of crisis. Non-conforming and driven as she was, that white fluffy fantasy had been every little girl's dream.

_It didn't have to be white and fluffy for her _, but Cristina was feeling a pang of anxiety sweeping across her as the shiny wedding bands on the newly-wed shone directly into her eyes.

"Wow, you two are MARRIED!" Izzie laughed hysterically while Cristina slowly tuned down her smile. "Oh my God, I'm so happy for you two. That's so cute!"

Callie's grin was like a heater in the middle of summer, it made everyone wonder if George would soon melt and evaporate into the air.

"So, when's the baby due?" Cristina smirked.

Immediately, blood drained off George's face. "What do you mean, Cristina?"

"Well, isn't that why you've to get married in such a hurry?" Cristina rolled her eyes, feigning innocence.

Izzie glared at Cristina and shoved her to the side. _She couldn't stand Cristina's sarcasm in general, and certainly not when Cristina was hurting her best friend at Seattle Grace._

"Shut it, Cristina," Izzie shook her head. "You're simply jealous, because Burke isn't asking you to marry him."

Trying to regain composure, Cristina revealed her shallowest smile and asked dryly, "How do you know if he hasn't?"

"Seriously, Cristina, you mean he did?" Now everyone was shifting their attention on the ambitious intern.

_Would she be so thrilled if he had actually asked her?_ Nobody knew better than Cristina that no proposal had been made or accepted, but the idea was beginning to grow on her.

No matter how hard Cristina used to make fun of marriages, seeing how her mother failed miserably, deep at heart, she had always wondered about what it meant to spend the rest of her life with one and only one person.

She was always the best in every field she set foot in—ballet, horse-riding, medical school, residency—and she didn't like the reality that George and Callie beat her this time.

"But Cristina, what makes you think you're ready for it? You don't cook, you don't clean, you probably don't like kids." Izzie snorted at her friend.

"Well, I'm good in bed." Cristina snapped, then said to George and Callie in a teasing tone, "I am sure you know how important that is."

Cristina always had her way when she wanted to embarrass others. The newly-wed blushed.

"Congratulations, O'Malley."

Just as Cristina was about to walk away feeling good for winning the conversation, a hand fell on her waist and made her froze.

"Thank you, Dr. Burke."

Burke could not understand the surprise and fear in Cristina's eyes as she turned to stare at him, but soon his attention was captured by the curiosity in the other 3 people's eyes.

Cristina prayed that if there was a God, He would accept her apology for mocking at George in time to stop Izzie from blurting out anything stupid.

Apparently, her prayer was lost in transmission.

"So, Dr. Burke, what did you do to make Cristina say yes?"

_Cristina wished she had a baseball bat in hand._

"Excuse me?" Burke was confused.

"Oh, you mean she didn't say yes?" As usual, Izzie was disappointed for something that wasn't really happening to herself. Being over-involved.

It didn't help when Callie volunteered the information. "Cristina said you proposed to her."

"Did she really?" Burke burst into laughter. "Why don't I remember that?"

Cristina wanted to find a hole to hide.

_One of them should die. Although clearly, Cristina felt like she's already totally dead. She was dumb enough to have set herself up, but couldn't Burke have tried to play along?_

Amidst the embarrassment, Cristina shot an angry look at Burke and stormed off.

_Marriages were stupid. She was stupid to have thought of wanting to be part of that yucky white picture._

As she hopped onto the upper bunk in the on-call room, Cristina had a rare moment of anxiety.

_She wasn't young anymore. Most people she knew were either married or engaged. What if Burke never proposed?_

George and Callie were married, Meredith had been bragging about Derek's plan to wed her next Winter. Even Izzie Stevens had a fiancé, who fortunately dropped dead before knowing what sort of a deal he was getting himself into.

A woman in love was always a little crazy. A woman who wanted to get married couldn't have been better.

Cristina Yang, at the age of 29, just before hitting the big 3-0, never thought she would become one of them. Yet there she was, lying alone in the dark, wondering if she would ever get married.

_He gave her the coffee. He gave her the key. He gave her a door in her face. He gave her the longest silent treatment in history. So why couldn't he just give her a ring now?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Ch. 2  
**_Who said there wasn't going to be a ring? It just wasn't the right moment yet._

Burke found it hard to contain his excitement as he approached the on-call room. "Is there something I should know about what you said to them?"

"About what?" Agitation continued to dominate Cristina as Burke climbed up and touched her forehead.

_He just messed everything up and embarrassed her in front of her friends! Why should she play nice and talk to him now?_

"I thought there's a girl out there who wants to get married. I thought I could be of some help."

"This girl must be drunk and having a problem with making judgments. Who wants to get married these days?" Cristina reacted in such a way to downplay the desire sitting at the back of her head.

"Why not?" Burke smiled as he continued to play this game with her. "Doesn't every girl want a Prince Charming?"

"Well, not every man can be Prince Charming," Cristina was slowly letting her guard down as her voice trailed off.

Burke was amused by the pout that was still visible on her face. "There might be one who's waiting for you, just that you're too busy to notice."

The pout finally melted into a smile as Cristina poked her finger into his chest.

"Are you suggesting that you're as handsome as Prince Charming?"

"Nope," Burke said confidently. "I think I am better than that."

"You know, I am not the typical Cinderella. I hate fairy tales," Cristina gave him a lazy yet mesmerizing gaze. "I mean, how can you walk with such a pompous and useless dress without tripping over and breaking your hip?"

"Well, I figure we'll have to find a dress that wouldn't make you walk like a mermaid down the aisle."

Furrowing her eyebrows, Cristina sat up and looked at Burke with some uncertainty. _Did he mean what she thought he was saying?_

"We could wear scrubs." Cristina rolled her eyes in mischief.

"I am not sure if our mothers would like that."

"No. No mothers. No mothers allowed if I have to wear one of those disgusting white gowns," Cristina was very obstinate about that.

"That would be tough," Burke laced his fingers beneath his chin.

"You can't make everyone happy."

"You'll regret it some day when you're 70 and your grand-daughter asks you why her grandma never wore a huge fluffy white gown on that very special day."

After looking at his suspiciously for a few seconds, Cristina eventually relaxed her shoulders and said, "Whatever. You won."

"Seems like we've got one detail settled. Shall we move on?" Burke blew her a kiss at the back of her neck.

"Look, Mister, I don't have a very good sense of time; that doesn't mean you can make plans for something before you decide to pursue it."

_Cristina really did want him to propose after all._ Burke pulled her closer to him with one arm across her body from behind, feeling satisfied.

"I thought you already said yes when you told everyone."

"I can't say yes when there isn't a question posed to me," Cristina remained stubborn. "As Meredith said, sometimes we want to be treated like some freaking lady."

"I never noticed what a big influence Grey has on you," Burke burst into laughter. "Do you really want to be that lady?"

The stillness in the room was unnerving to Cristina. _Why couldn't he just be a nice guy and make that one proposal without teasing her left and right?_

"What do you say, Cristina?" Burke pushed harder for a response.

"If you want to ask me one simple question, do it now. I am not a patient person and you know that," Cristina jumped off the bed.

_The woman was always full of surprise. How would he have imagined that she suddenly seemed to want to get married so badly?_

"I don't know what you're talking about, Cristina," Burke was suppressing the giddy feeling rising from the bottom of his heart. "Why don't YOU ask me that question instead?"

"Fine. If you aren't gonna do it, neither will I," Cristina turned around and added, "Besides, even if you do ask, I don't guarantee you a _yes_."

"Even if you really want it?" Burke gently shook his head, the smile never leaving his face.

"I have good self-discipline," Cristina tried to sound like she was bragging about it.

"I guess you won't be interested in looking at this loop then," Burke was playing with that elegant piece of gold with his long and dexterous fingers.

The reflection from the ring blinded Cristina's mind. Her hand instinctively reached out, trying to catch the ring before he took it back. "That's sneaky!"

"That's called ingenious," Burke pondered on it for a moment and said, "Too bad this beautiful ring doesn't have an owner."

"I don't like rings," Cristina responded.

"Stop being difficult," Disregarding her pretense of displeasure, Burke snuggled her firmly. "If you want to hear something, you have to at least give me a chance to say it!"

A smirk spread on Cristina's face.

When Burke geared up his confidence again and was about to open his mouth, Cristina covered it with her hand and said, "Ok. I mean, yes."

Later whenever people asked them about the proposal, they always looked into each other's eyes and smiled.

_Did it really matter whether it was spoken in words or something else?_

Two months before she turned 30, Cristina marveled at how the rest of her life was suddenly mapped out perfectly. It amazed her how much she actually enjoyed and looked forward to spending the rest of her life with Burke.

_The little girl was finally getting married._ Cristina smiled in pride.

THE END


End file.
